Platanthera blephariglottis
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Photo Courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Platanthera blephariglottis |
| Common name: | white fringed orchid |
| Group: | monocot |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 1 - 2' |
| Foliage: | Middle of the stem with small, narrow, pointed leaves. Bottom leaves similar but larger. |
| Flower: | 1-1/2 inches long; large spike of flowers, 6"-7"; spur long, up to 1" |
| Flowering time: | late June-late July |
| Habitat: | wet boggy soils |
| Range in New Jersey: | wet boggy soils |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | Pine Barrens, Cape May district, locally in the Middle district, extending to Bergen, Hudson, and Mercer counties |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | USDA
lists as a wetland obligate: Occurs almost always (estimated
probability 99%) under natural conditions in wetlands. At one time abundant in the Pine Barrens, now, perhaps, deserving of a look at possible conservation efforts. Stone writes: "The White Fringed Orchis impresses the visitor to the Pine Barrens more than any other plant. There is a delicacy and beauty about it that seem to remove it entirely from the class of "wild flowers" and it seems as if it belonged rather with the greenhouse exotics" (368). |